America was founded on the idea of peaceful resistance to both laws and the government in place. When colonists wanted to show Great Britain their distaste for the King's ruling of them, they dumped many barrels of tea from British ships in Boston Harbor into the water. This ignited the revolutionary flame amid the colonies and ultimately led to the revolutionary war. Without that act of peaceful resistance, the King would not have received the message from the colonists that they were no longer going to sit quietly and let him take advantage of them by taxing them without representation and forcing them to buy British products. Fast forward to the 20th century, where peaceful resistance led to the outlawing of discrimination through acts …show more content…
When society tries to limit that resistance, it is no longer a free society, rather dictatorial one that prohibits free thought and free expression. Even today, this type of protest is used, and not just limited to backlash over specific laws. On January 21st, 2017, the day after President Trump was inaugurated, millions of men and women marched throughout the country and even around the world to voice their concerns with the new leader and what they were passionate about. People held signs about climate change, about reproductive rights, and LGBT rights, along with many others pertaining to several other issues. These marches, though some were big and some small, sent a resounding message all across the globe: we will not be silenced. That message is the keystone in American democracy, and when so many people practice it they are helping society to understand how people are feeling. Even though the protests were in opposition to the new president, President Trump went on twitter to write that protesting is an essential part of democracy and that everyone who took part in the marches had a right to be there. This shows that even when the resistance is against someone, they are still able to agree that it is important to not suppress it and to not prohibit